Takes place after "I Was Made To Love You", but the ending didn't
happen, if that makes any sense, and no spoilers for "The Bo

Takes place after "I Was Made To Love You", but the ending
didn't happen, if that makes any sense, and no spoilers for "The Body". I don't
own the characters. Feedback would be nice…

Dawn was fuming over her sister. Most things were over her
sister, now that she thought about it. That self-centred slayer always had to
have everyone do things her way. This time, it was giving the cold shoulder to
Spike.

She *liked* Spike, and it wasn't just because she had a
major crush on him and that he was unbelievably cute and exciting. He was the
only person who didn't treat her like a kid, or worse, like nothing. Like a
stupid blob of energy that wasn't really a person at all.

If Buffy hadn't noticed Spike's crush on her, she was blind.
And now she was being all bitchy and demanding that no one speak to Spike, or
treat him with any respect.

Dawn was amazed the way everyone was doing what she said.
None of them, *none* of them, had any problem with Spike. They were just
catering to Buffy's needs. The way they always did.

I bet she *really* liked being an only child, Dawn
reflected. Spoiled brat.

"Dawn!" Buffy yelled from downstairs. "Can you clean up the
kitchen? I have to go and patrol."

Dawn didn't respond, and Buffy took it for granted that her
little sister would do what she asked.

Forget it, Dawn decided, going out herself. She wasn't
Buffy's slave.

She was storming down one particular street when she heard
something behind her, and before she knew it she was in the tenacious grip of a
vampire.

She struggled furiously, but she knew it was pointless. As
she screamed in pain when the vampire bit her, she wished that Buffy was here.
Never mind that she acted like a bitch sometimes, she was the slayer and she
saved people from stuff like this.

I'm going to die, she thought in despair. I haven't even
gotten a chance to live and I'm going to die. No one will even care. I'm not
real.

She was feeling dizzy and about to faint when she was
released. She fell to the ground, barely aware of the fight going on around
her. And then strong arms lifting her up, carrying her to safety . . .

*****

Buffy had just gotten home and was wondering where Dawn was
when the doorbell rang.

At the sight of her younger sister unconscious in his arms,
blood dripping from her neck, she gasped.

"Spike, what the hell have you done now?" she demanded. The
rage inside her was something which she'd rarely experienced before. When she
felt like this she could take on the world. But for now, Spike would suffice.

"She was –" he began, but she silenced him.

"I don't want to hear it. Just go," she snapped, lifting
Dawn out of his arms and slamming the door after him. Setting Dawn down on the
sofa, she didn't hear Spike yelling, "She could have been killed, you know!"

*****

That stupid . . . sometimes Spike couldn't believe he
actually cared about her. He'd just saved her sister, and did he even get a
thank you? No. Of course not.

Why did he even bother?

*****

"You're going to apologise to him," Dawn told her sister
firmly.

Buffy looked at Dawn as if she was crazy. "Uh-uh. No way.
He's Spike. He's evil, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess that was why he saved my life," Dawn
shrugged. Sometimes she couldn't believe Buffy. "You were so mean to him!"

"He's evil!"

"He doesn't deserve this! You treat him like crap. And he
puts up with it. I'd call that love."

Buffy laughed harshly. "He's a vampire. He doesn't have a
soul. He can't love anyone but himself."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Dawn muttered, walking
out.

Buffy sighed. What did her little sister know, anyway?

*****

"Spike?" Dawn peered in at him. Buffy didn't know that her
sister was visiting Spike's crypt, and it was probably for the best.